Our Sebastopol, California Pond's 23rd year - 2018
We have been living at our McCloud home for a good part of the year, so there are fewer images this year.

Winter 2018

We found Darner nymph when we cleaned the pond.

Spring 2018


We discovered that the carpenter ants were feeding on our emerging damselflies!


On the more pleasant side, we enjoyed a whole flock of tiny Bushtits enjoying the pond!


The Bushtits had a rival in the Chestnut-backed Chickadee though!

Summer 2018

The SF Photography Club visited the pond and enjoyed our 'tame' (used to photographers) dragons.

Click on any of the small images to see them in an expanded size

The dragonflies were in their glory! Be certain to click on image #3 above to see the humor in the image.
These are all male Flame Skimmers except for the lone male Cardinal Meadowhawk on the right side of the 2nd image

The kitchen window (middle image) serves as our bird blind. We open it and raise the screen to sneak pictures of the bushtit family and other visitors like the Chickadee.

Fall 2018

In the fall, our fauna changes a bit. Instead of Cardinal Meadowhawks we get Variegated Meadowhawks, their camouflage works well. Can you find it in the 2nd image, even when expanded?

Some early fall views of the pond and some year-round 'visitors' aka a Titmouse and a Robin.

More images of avian visitors: a House Finch makes the Bushtits look small (they are!); can you find 11 or maybe 13 Bushtits in the 2nd image?;
The Black-headed Grosbeak, like the Western Tanager, only visits in the all when the blackberries are ripe, and look quite different than they do in the Spring and Summer.

Late fall found still more critters visiting. Here are the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Anna's Hummingbird, Gulf Fritillary butterfly and Lesser Goldfinch.

Winter 2018

We ended the year marveling at how the Fox Squirrel could balance on the tiny limbs of the Japanese Maple that overhangs the pond without falling in!
It was eating the seedpods